forever yours
by shel
Summary: what we didn’t know about phoebe’s death during the twopart series finale ‘kill billie: vol. 2’ & ‘forever charmed’…
1. prologue

CHARMED

"Forever Yours"

by shel

© april 2007

_disclaimer__: the charmed ones, cole, and leo, and the rest of the cast of characters we've come to know and love, belong to spelling television, inc. and possible other copyright holders. i intended no true infringement on their copyrights; i only wanted to borrow these marvelous characters for a short time in my own scenarios and hopefully return them no worse for wear; the only things i've gained from this story are the satisfaction and pleasure of having written it and in knowing that others may have enjoyed it too…_

_rating__: pg-13_

_summary__: what we didn't know about phoebe's death during the two-part series finale ('__kill billie: vol. 2__' & '__forever charmed__')…_

_timeline__: may 2006_

_archive__: please don't without expressed permission…_

_notes__: there are minor references to s3's '__all hell breaks loose__,' s7's '__the seven year witch__,' and s4's '__charmed again, part 1__'…please let me know if you enjoyed my tale and why and, if not, why not…and, please, don't bother wasting your time or mine by sending any flames…

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_**Prologue**_

Phoebe stood nearby, watching in shock as her sister cradled her body. "Piper, no, I'm not dead." She crouched next to Piper and gasped when her hand passed through Piper's shoulder. "Sweetie, you have to hear me. I'm right here!" But Piper was lost in grief and Phoebe implored her sister, "Sweetie, it's not too late. You can bring me back. Go to my place and get the Book."

"Only the Grimoire can bring back the dead and I don't see Piper turning evil in order to use it."

"Omigod," Phoebe uttered, afraid to turn her head and see the person matching the voice.

"You're dead, Phoebe. Damn you!"

"What?!" Phoebe stood and spun in one fluid movement, her hand shooting out in a fist as she did. But as before, it met with air and she was torn between frustration at her new spirit form and anger at his curse. "Go to hell!"

"Already there, sweetheart!" he snapped as he grabbed hold of her other attacking arm.

She froze and stared at the hand clamped on her arm. "How?" she whispered. "I couldn't touch Piper or you."

Loosening his grip, he calmly stated, "It takes time…and talent."

A glow distracted her from responding and she turned to find, "The Angel of Destiny…Leo!" Phoebe remained silent while watching Piper's bittersweet reunion with her husband. "Leo, you have to hear me. You have to convince Piper I'm not dead," she requested.

"Except you are."

Ignoring him, she focused on the rest of the Angel's comments. "I don't understand," she shook her head. "She makes it sound like we failed."

"You did."

"Hello, I'm dead," she glared at him. "Of course we failed. I mean how she said it, like this whole thing with the Hollow and Billie and Christy ended wrong, that we were really supposed to have won." She caught the roll of his eyes and grumbled, "Never mind."

"Time is a tricky thing," he commented. "You can never be sure where one reality ends and another begins."

"Time," she mused quietly. "Time! That's it! All Piper has to do is reset time to prevent all this."

"As if Tempus doesn't have anything better to do than save the Charmed Ones," he muttered when she appeared pleased by her idea. This time her fist did collide with his chin and, despite the lack of pain, he instinctively rubbed his jaw, "You always were a fast learner."

"You think this is all a joke?" she fumed. "Paige and I are dead, the manor's in ruins, and did you see her? Piper will never let up until she kills Billie!"

"There's nothing remotely funny about this," he somberly agreed. "But Piper can't change history. I told you, time is tricky. If she makes the slightest change, even to save you, she could set in motion other consequences that might destroy her future. Everything happens for a reason, Phoebe, and some things are meant to be. You taught me that."

Her shoulders sagged with the realization that he was right. She turned aside to scan the rubble of her home. "But I'm not ready to die. There's still so much I have to live for."

"If that were true," he quietly remarked as he approached her from behind, "you wouldn't be here."

"Hell?" It came out as a bitter chuckle. She gazed up at him and sincerely wondered, "If I'm dead, why are you here and not the Angel of Death? Or are you an Angel of Death?"

"Hardly," he snorted. He swept his arm around, "This is my domain."

"I don't understand," she sighed. "What is this place? Where am I really? And what am I supposed to do now?"

"Now, you adjust. I can help…if you'll let me." He stretched out his hand to her, "Trust me?"

Glancing once more at the smoldering surroundings, she locked eyes with his and placed her hand securely in his, "I always did."

Acknowledging her comment with only a gentle squeeze of the hand, Cole Turner faded with his ex-wife deeper into limbo.

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	2. part 1

_**Part One**_

"So you're saying we do have a physical form here?" Phoebe asked when they materialized in her apartment.

Cole pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes, "Can't you focus on one thing before jumping into four others?"

"Sorry."

He sighed when she spun her back to him in anger. "No," he placed his hands on her shoulders, "I'm sorry, Phoebe. I've been there. I remember the shock of entering limbo and I remember the need of wanting all the answers to come instantaneously. But you have…a long time to learn the ropes."

She couldn't help but soften at the bitterness of his tone. "You said you'd made peace with your fate," she reminded him.

"I have and --"

"Then it's me," she sadly realized. "My being here is hurting you." She didn't give him time to comment and immediately apologized. "The Book has to have something, some way for me to leave you alone."

"Phoebe, that's not what I --"

"The Book's gone," she interrupted in momentary panic. "The Book's gone!"

"Piper's been here," he reasoned. He saw doubt in her eyes, "With her sisters dead, Piper would retrieve the Book and bring it to her sons for safety before deciding what to do next."

"What's to do," Phoebe sighed, "except bury us…God, this is such a mess. I'd better go to Dad's."

"You can't," he stopped her from fading away. "Look, Phoebe, I know this is hard to accept and I know you'd rather be anywhere else but here with me but you have to stop following her," he instructed, "and move on in this new existence."

"Sorry," she apologized again although meaning it this time. "It's so surreal, though. I mean, one minute I'm taking in the Hollow to fight the ultimate battle and the next I'm in limbo with you."

"Not what I'd wanted for you."

"Not what I'd wanted for me either," she joked. But he looked so solemn and she stepped closer, "It's not your fault I'm here, Cole."

"Isn't it? I hurt you so badly." He found himself unable to look at her. "You'd always been wary of love but I nearly --"

She'd brought her finger to his lips to silence him, "I loved you and I never regretted that love." She saw disbelief etched in his features and slowly removed her finger. "What I regretted was how it ended. All our anger. I…I know I hurt you."

"You were angry because I couldn't let go," he rued.

"You were lost and I wasn't there to help," she corrected.

"I wasn't willing to accept the help you did offer," he argued. "And I went mad with obsessing over getting you back, getting you to love me again."

Phoebe wanted to cry. "Oh, Cole, I never stopped loving you. That's the truth. But love wasn't enough --"

"To overcome all the evil," he concluded. "I understand. Now. But not then." He reached out his hand to caress her cheek but dropped it just short of touching her. "How much different might it have been if I'd given you time and space?"

"And how much different if I would've reached out to you when I discovered how bad things had really gotten?"

He was silent and she turned from him, catching a glimpse of her bed from the doorway. Phoebe suddenly spun around, "I didn't know, Cole. I didn't know you still existed. Piper never explained that "old friend" bit. If I had known…"

"I didn't want you to know," he simply said.

"Why?" she whispered, afraid to hear the answer.

"It's complicated," he answered as he began to walk around her living room, touching a knickknack here and there. His hand settled on a small silver heart paperweight. "You kept it."

"I went back to the penthouse." She watched one of his eyebrows arch with curiosity and explained with a sigh, "The firm called me to have your things cleared out or they'd hire a service and," she shrugged, "I couldn't let them do that. As angry as I was, deep down, I knew that a day would come when I would regret it if I let them throw away every sign of your existence. So I went back." She focused her gaze on the paperweight, "A lot went to charity but there was a lot…" she shifted her gaze to his, "a lot I had to keep. So I packed everything into a box and hid it in my closet. Until…"

"Until…" His voice suddenly seemed hoarse.

"Until I could open it without feeling all the pain," she whispered before quickly averting her gaze.

Cole removed his hand from the paperweight and watched her inspect the remnants of a melted candle. "I'm glad."

"It still hurts," she automatically commented but quickly turned towards him to add, "but it's different." But his stiff back was facing her and, as he began to walk away, she tried to clarify, "I wasn't looking carefully when I unpacked after moving in and I opened the box by accident. It hurt but it wasn't as bad as I remembered and I realized there were some things I could keep out that wouldn't tear me up inside. Some things I still can't look at but…I don't know, maybe after Drake….He tried so hard to get me to…anyway, now it's been Coop and, I don't know, it just feels different."

Mid-step, Cole paused and stole a look at her. He knew what she meant about the pain being different. Instead of continuing on his path to the balcony, he wandered to the sofa, examining a framed picture of Phoebe and her nephews on the end table. "Time does that." He caught her staring at him and smiled at the irony, "Maybe the greatest evil we had to face wasn't demonic after all." She seemed confused and he explained, "Time. We never had enough time."

Suddenly desperate to change the subject, Phoebe indicated to the frame he was holding, "It's amazing you can do that." Her hand went right through one of the sofa's pillows. "I still haven't gotten the hang of it."

"You will…in time," he stated with more than a hint of regret. He set down the frame, "Don't you see, Phoebe? You don't belong here. You belong with your mother and sister and --"

"Things happen for a reason," she teased before turning serious. "I don't know, Cole, maybe Piper was right when she once said that our only destiny's to die. How many in our line, like Prue and my mom, died before their time? Maybe for me dying means ending up in limbo. Maybe I'm supposed to be here."

"You're supposed to have love," he contended. "A life filled with love."

"I did have love," she insisted.

"If you truly believed in love," he maintained, "you wouldn't be here. And I will never forgive myself that you are because it's my fault you lost faith in yourself and in love. I wanted to spare you this fate. I wanted to save you from --"

"Something's wrong," she interrupted, pressing her hand to her heart. She gazed up at him and spoke in short gasps, "Can you feel it? If I'm dead, how can it hurt like this?"

"You're feeling the call of a soul in pain," he revealed. "It's what happens here. It's one of the many things I haven't gotten to explain yet."

"It's like," she continued to press her hand to her chest, "like…"

"I know," he softly acknowledged as he drew her hand away and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I wish I hadn't let you distract me with your questions because now you'll have to wing it."

"I don't understand."

"You have to find the source of the pain," Cole explained, "and do your best to help stop it. One way or another."

"But how do I find it?"

"Concentrate on the feeling," he instructed, "and you'll be brought to the person in question."

"And then what?"

"Follow your instincts." He sensed her growing anxiety and assured her, "You'll do fine."

"How do you know?"

For the first time since her arrival, he allowed himself to truly smile, "Because I know you and how dedicated you are."

"You'll be there in case something goes wrong?" she asked rhetorically as her hand slipped free from his.

He stepped back, "It's not a call for me."

She quickly grabbed for his hand and couldn't manage to feel smug that she was able to squeeze it because her fear was so strong. "Please…"

Brushing the back of his free hand along her cheek, he told her to close her eyes and concentrate on the pain.

When Phoebe opened her eyes, she found herself in her father's apartment. "Coop?" She looked back at Cole, "Did you know it was Coop? Is that why you didn't want to come?"

"I suspected," he admitted as he caught her unconsciously rubbing her chest.

Her eyes widened, "You know about Coop?"

"I know he loves you," was all Cole replied.

Phoebe hadn't wanted to deal with Coop's feelings during the crisis but she knew it was true. "He does love me," she whispered. She left Cole's side, approached the Cupid, and stood before him, "Coop? Can you hear me?" But just as Piper hadn't heard her, neither had Coop who continued his conversation with her sister, oblivious to her presence. "How can I help him if he can't hear me?" But when Phoebe turned back to Cole, she discovered he was gone. "Cole?"

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	3. part 2

_**Part Two**_

Phoebe, still muttering curses at her absent ex-husband, caught Piper's demand for Coop's ring. "Ha!" She practically shouted to the ceiling, "Who the hell needs Tempus when we've got Cupid on our side?" But almost as quickly, her expression saddened and she rubbed her chest. Glancing back at Coop, she apologized despite his being unable to hear.

After hearing Coop's instructions on using his ring, Phoebe watched him fade away and wondered what she was supposed to do next. The heartache was still there. "I guess I'm supposed to follow you." With a sigh, she closed her eyes and concentrated on him.

When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see that she was standing on her own balcony. Coop was staring out into the night and she tried placing her hand on his back. "Dammit, I can touch Cole, I should be able to touch you." But his pain cut through her annoyance, "Oh, Coop, I'm sorry, for so many things."

"Why, Phoebe?" he quietly asked. "Why you?"

"Better me than Piper," she quietly replied. "I guess we hadn't considered all the possibilities if we accessed the Hollow."

"I hope you're at peace."

"I haven't decided yet." It wasn't a flip answer, merely the truth. There was still so much to absorb about what happened and how she ended up in limbo. And then there was Cole to consider. An eternity with him. The thought terrified her. And yet, there was a feeling growing stronger inside her that seemed almost giddy at the thought. Eternity with Cole.

She knew Cole still loved her. He might not have said the words but she knew. So why did he seem so unhappy by her presence in limbo? How would she manage eternity with him if he didn't want her around? She hugged herself even though she couldn't feel the evening chill. Her emotions were jumbled again and when she looked back at Coop she realized she'd missed him speaking.

Guilt swept through her because she was supposed to be helping him and not using the precious time to solve her own emotional upheaval. "Coop, it's okay. Despite where I am now, we still did good. We still overcame the evil. Not that Billie was truly evil but you know what I mean. We stopped the Triad and maybe even destroyed the Hollow. Piper will be able to raise the boys in a somewhat normal environment and she'll have Leo right by her side. Love won."

Unaware, Coop hunched forward, his arms resting on the ledge, "Ah, Phoebe, there was so much I still wanted to show you about love, so much I wanted you to see. I thought we had more time…"

"Me too," she admitted. "I know I kept pushing you away but I wasn't ready to.…I don't need my empathic powers to know how you feel about me but I couldn't -- Oh, Coop, I do care about you. You have to know that, you have to feel that." She saw him hang his head and she reached out to him again, "I care so much it terrifies me because I'm not sure I can handle being in love with you, not when it could all come crashing down around me. And I'm not, I'm not strong enough to fight again for a forbidden lo--"

"Your father was right," he interrupted. "What he said about love when I came by looking for you."

"You went to Dad?" She recognized the all-too familiar reaction flicker across his face. "Didn't go too well, huh."

"He warned me to stay away from you, that magic had cost you too much."

"You have to understand," she requested, "magic's hurt him so badly. It cost him a wife, raising his daughters, and then, after finding us again, he lost Prue. And Piper and I still couldn't give up the magic. This is probably a nightmare come true for him, losing another daughter to magic."

"He loves you so much and I understand that he doesn't want you to be hurt," Coop continued. "I tried to tell him that I had no intention of hurting you. I even confessed that I was in love with you." He gave a bitter laugh, "And he told me that I knew nothing about love. Me, a Cupid! He told me until I had lost love, I would never know what it means to truly love."

"Coop, he's scared, he didn't mean --"

"And he was right." Coop shook his head in amazement. "All these centuries of bringing love to people, I had no clue what it all really meant until Piper told me you were dead." He was oblivious to the tears welling in his eyes, "Ah, Phoebe, why?"

Phoebe rubbed her chest as his pain surged through her. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" She spun, unable to watch him any longer, and ran smack into Cole. Without questioning his sudden appearance or his solid form, she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed herself close, "I can't do it. I can't take away his pain. I don't know how to make it better."

"Hush," Cole murmured as he brushed her hair, "it's okay. You're doing well, Phoebe." He felt her struggle to argue but kept his arms tightly wound around her. "It can take time to be heard. Just continue talking to him. He's listening even if he doesn't realize it yet."

"It's all my fault…"

"You weren't ready," he assured her. "He knows that."

"I never told him."

Cole gently pushed her out of his embrace, "He's a Cupid, Phoebe. It's innate for him to know how you feel."

"I don't think so," she disagreed, glimpsing the sad Cupid. "If he's in love with me then he's not thinking objectively."

"So tell him how you feel," he encouraged.

"I did," she awkwardly admitted.

He picked up on her discomfort and assured her, "I wanted you to find love again, Phoebe. Why do you think I interfered with Piper and Leo?"

"It's just weird," she replied quietly, "talking to you about falling in love with someone else."

"It's what I wanted," he maintained. "I wan-- we need to go."

"What's wrong?" she questioned when he suddenly grabbed her hand and faded them from the balcony. "Cole, what's --why are we back at the manor?"

"That's why." He pointed to Billie and Christie facing off with the Charmed Ones.

"Mom! Grams!" Phoebe spotted them with another Piper and she turned to Cole, "What's going on? Did Piper bring them forward in time? Wait, Cole, this is the battle. You took me here to watch me die? That's sick."

But Cole realized that Piper must have a plan and watched as she, with her mother and grandmother, recited a spell just as the Hollow was being released. "Impressive," he murmured as the aborted battle left three Charmed Ones standing very much alive and well. He turned to his ex-wife and caressed her cheek, "This is where we say goodbye."

"I don't understand," she nervously commented. She caught sight of Piper, the one standing with her mother and Grams, be absorbed into the Piper that had been standing with her other self and Paige. "Cole?"

"Piper changed the outcome," he explained. "Her two selves have merged and now it's your turn."

"I'm not -- are you sure -- I mean -- oh, no!"

He turned to see the Angel of Destiny take Leo away. "It seems you still have a battle awaiting you." But he frowned as he turned back to Phoebe. "Something's wrong. You should've merged with your other self." Looking up to the ceiling, he shouted, "This is wrong! Dammit, you have to let her go!"

Phoebe tugged on his arm, "Cole, stop, it's okay."

"It's not okay!" he raged. "You don't belong here and you should have gone back! It was the perfect set-up!"

"But I didn't," she reasoned, "so let's just go from here." She tried tugging him again but her increasing anxiety affected her concentration and her fingers slipped through his arm. "Dammit…Please, Cole, let's go…"

"We need to see what happens," he resisted. "There still may be a chance."

"How many more chances does one person get?" she asked wearily. "How many times have my sisters and I cheated death? Look at me over there," she pointed, "I'm fine. Let's not push my luck, okay?"

"You're giving up?" he asked incredulously.

"Not giving up," she corrected, "merely accepting the inevitable. I'm here, Cole, and it looks like I'm not going anywhere so we may as well start making peace with it."

"I'm sorry, Phoebe, but I can't," he maintained. "I'll find a way to get you out. I promise." He faded away before she could respond.

"Cole!" With a last glance at herself sitting with her sisters in the parlor, she sighed and closed her eyes to concentrate on finding Cole.

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	4. part 3

_**Part Three**_

Phoebe finally caught up with him in the mausoleum where he was pacing in the dark. "You never finished telling me about my new powers here. Like a vampire, I can see in the dark too, huh."

Startled, Cole spun to her, "This isn't a time for jokes, Phoebe. We're running out of time. The longer you remain split from your other self the less likel--"

She stepped in front of him, preventing him from moving. "Time's already up, Cole."

Cole measured her expression and he could barely speak, "What do you mean?"

"Come with me," she requested as she held out her hand. When he seemed resistant, she flexed her fingers and requested, "Trust me…please…" She smiled shyly when he placed his hand in hers but, this time, she led the way.

He involuntarily clenched her hand when they reappeared in the solarium of the manor where present, past, and future members of the Halliwell family were embracing one another. "I take it you won this time around."

Phoebe nodded but didn't release his hand. "The Triad's gone, Dumain and Christy are gone. Billie will need time to recover but this," she indicated with her free hand, "is still a time to celebrate. Piper saved me and Paige and together we all saved the future. Look at Wyatt and Chris." She smiled watching the laughing ensemble, "We won."

But Cole's gaze was captured by the image of Phoebe's other self locked in an embrace with Coop.

"It seems we're meant to be," Phoebe quietly informed him when Cole slipped his hand free. She watched him watch her other self and wished he didn't seem so resigned to the announcement. "Wyatt and Chris called him Uncle Coop and, well, in their time, it seems Coop and I have got an extremely tight bond."

"I'm happy for you," Cole eventually commented as he turned back to his ex-wife.

"The Angel of Destiny confirmed that loving Coop isn't the forbidden affair I thought it was," she explained with a sheepish smile. "I guess all the pain was worth it to find love again."

"So this is goodbye." He brought her hand to his lips and lightly kissed it before giving her a slight smile. "Be happy, Phoebe. It's all I ever wanted for you."

But she refused to let him release her hand. "I'm not going anywhere, Cole."

"Of course you are," he disagreed. "Now that it's all over, there's nothing to stop you from merging back with your other self, especially now that you truly believe in love again."

"Except," she shrugged, "that's not what I want. Everything happens for a reason." She pointed to her other self, "She didn't need me to find love again. But you did."

"What?"

"You needed me, Cole," she softly explained. "You're the one who was losing hope. It wasn't until I saw them all together that I figured it out."

He had every intention of pulling his hand free but that small glimmer of hope inside him kept his fingers firmly intertwined with hers. "Figured what out?"

"That I was meant to be here with you," she replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "Don't shake your head. Deep down you know I'm right."

"No," he whispered in protest. "This isn't your fate."

"But it is."

Both Cole and Phoebe turned to find the Angel of Destiny standing before them in their realm.

"Phoebe is right about her place being here, with you, Cole."

He was too stunned to even notice Phoebe's triumphant grin. "But eternity…she deserves to have love," he appealed. "She deserves to live a long and happy life filled with love."

The Angel waved her hand to indicate the scene before them, "And she will Cole. With Coop by her side."

"She should be merged with her other self," Cole frowned, "and actually experience it with --"

"Limbo exists outside time and space," the Angel reminded him. "There was no going back for Phoebe once she appeared here."

"No…"

"It's not a punishment," Phoebe sighed with frustration. "Don't you understand yet?"

"I'm here to atone for a century of evil," Cole glared at her, "how is this not a punishment?"

"Because you will be together," the Angel replied instead. With a patient smile, she informed the pair, "Just as Coop was sent to Phoebe by the Elders as a way to make up for her many sacrifices in love, so too was Phoebe sent to you, Cole."

"But…"

"I told you before," Phoebe quietly added, "I figured it out. You were losing hope, Cole. You were here trying to help the lost but you were becoming lost yourself."

"Eternity in limbo can be quite discouraging even for the strongest souls," the Angel revealed. "You weren't fated to be here alone, Cole."

"Fine," he conceded, "neither one of us is lost. We've both been saved. So go back, Phoebe." He turned to the Angel, "You have the power. You can merge her two selves."

"I do," the Angel nodded, "and I can. If," she stressed, "it's what Phoebe wishes." Before Phoebe could say a word, she continued, "If I merge your souls, you will remember nothing of limbo." She saw Phoebe's eyes glance towards Cole and confirmed, "You will still have that life with Coop but you will not remember anything about Cole being here."

"It's okay," Cole quickly said. "I didn't want her to know anyway."

"But I want to know," Phoebe stated. "I don't want to leave. I don't want to be merged back with myself. I want to --"

"No!"

"Cole, be reasonable, it's --"

"Reasonable? Phoebe, this isn't something that can be fixed by resetting time! If you're here, it's forever!"

"Is that so bad?" she worried. "Do you hate me that much that you couldn't --"

"Hate you?" Exasperated, Cole yanked her into his arms and kissed her roughly. When he pushed her back, more gently, he spoke more calmly, "I love you, Phoebe. All I've --"

"Then that's enough for me," she interrupted with another kiss.

"So be it," the Angel smiled.

But Cole stopped her from leaving, "Wait! Phoebe, please, think about this. Your family," he pointed to the others surrounding them, "your sisters, your father, you'd be leaving them all behind. And what about Coop? What about your life with him? What about children? You'd been so --"

"Desperate?" she teased. But she immediately grew serious, "Yes. I wanted that little girl from my visions. I wanted her so badly I nearly lost myself along the way. But I'll still have that little girl." She peeked at the Angel who simply smiled back at her and she sighed in relief, "I'll have that happy life filled with love. It just won't be me me."

"It won't be the same," Cole maintained. "You will still be here. You'll still be deprived of that life."

"I'll be happy," she argued.

He threw his hands up in the air and stalked away from her, "How can you say that?"

"Because I'll be here with you."

Cole spun back in surprise. "You can't mean that."

"I'll admit," she confessed as she spotted her other self kissing Coop again, "I'm still a little nervous about it but I know this is right. Oh, Cole, you said it yourself. Time was our greatest enemy. Well," she smiled, "now we have it. Now we have all the time in the world. Unless," her smile quickly faded, "unless you don't want me here. Do you want me to leave? Is that it?"

"Of course I don't want you to go," he admitted. "But I can't let you throw away your life for me."

"I'm not," she insisted, "and maybe after the first hundred years or so, you'll begin to believe me."

"If that's your decision," the Angel spoke.

Phoebe gazed up at Cole before answering, "Cole?"

Lightly caressing her cheek, he questioned, "Are you sure this is what you really want?"

"I have never," she covered his hand with hers, "been more sure of anything in my entire life…or death…"

Cole couldn't help but smile as he turned to the Angel of Destiny. "I guess she's staying."

"Be happy," she wished them as she dissolved into golden orbs of light, "be good."

"Easy for her to say," the couple muttered before staring at each other in surprise and then chuckling.

"Come on, Cole," Phoebe tugged on his hand, "there's only a gazillion and one questions I have about limbo."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Cole kissed her fingertips and faded them from the manor, "Eternity awaits."

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	5. epilogue

_**Epilogue**_

Phoebe materialized in the corner of her older sister's bedroom and slowly approached the bed. Even at the age of ninety-four, Piper was still beautiful. Phoebe carefully sat on the edge of the bed and held her sleeping sister's hand in her own. "Practice," she smiled proudly before sweeping a few strands of long hair from Piper's eyes. "Hey there," she greeted when Piper's eyes fluttered open.

"Phoebe…"

"I'm here," Phoebe assured her sister.

"…So beautiful, just like you were…sixty years ago?"

"Give or take a few," Phoebe chuckled.

"I've missed you."

Phoebe could barely feel the change in pressure when Piper attempted to squeeze her hand. "I've missed you too," she whispered. "But I've been watching you and Paige and the rest of the family."

"I'm dying…that's why you're here," Piper sighed.

Phoebe tried to smile for her sister but couldn't manage to do so, "I couldn't let you be alone."

"I had a good life," Piper murmured. "I was so lucky…I had the best sisters, best husband…Three of the best kids, nearly a dozen grandkids…couldn't have asked for better." She caught the skepticism in Phoebe's eyes and chuckled weakly, "It was a good life, Pheebs," she drew in a deep breath, "I'm ready to move on…I'm glad you're here."

"I had to be here," Phoebe kissed her hand, "just like I did for Leo, just like I did for Paige, just like I did for myself."

"Excuse me?" Piper's eyebrows wrinkled in confusion.

"That was the weirdest one," Phoebe confided, "having to explain to myself what had happened."

"Phoebe…what did you do?"

"I made a choice," she confessed, "one I have never regretted. Of course, it's only been sixty years…" She shook her head at her little joke, "Just kidding…I know it was the right choice."

"What?" Piper's demanding voice was barely above a whisper.

"Do you remember when I died?"

Piper wasn't so old she couldn't roll her eyes at her younger sister. "Which time?"

"Billie and Christy?" Phoebe saw the acknowledgement in her sister's eyes and explained, "When I died after the Hollow, my soul went to…don't get upset, okay, my soul went to limbo…" She watched Piper's eyes widen and her words came out in a rush to calm her sister, "But it's okay, Piper. I wasn't alone and --"

"Cole…" Piper gasped. "You saw Cole…"

Phoebe nodded, "Together we realized what had happened. I couldn't handle the fact that I was falling in love with Coop. I still thought it would end badly and I couldn't face losing another…" She shook her head, "Look, none of it matters anymore. The point is, when you changed what happened to save me and Paige, I was still stuck in limbo, the me that died in the battle didn't merge back with the me you saved."

Tears pricked Piper's eyes, "You've been in limbo all these years?"

Phoebe kissed Piper's hand, "I told you I made a choice. When it was over, the Angel of Destiny would've merged my soul with my other self. But I didn't want that to happen."

"Cole," Piper realized, "you wanted to be with Cole."

Phoebe nodded, "I discovered that I was destined to be with Coop but I…I couldn't deprive myself the chance to be with Cole, to be with him without any of the dangers or temptations we faced while…I had to stay with him."

"You love him."

"I do," she smiled. "I really do."

"He's there for eternity," Piper unhappily pointed out.

"I know," Phoebe grinned. "Look at it this way, Piper, I've had the best life and death because I spent each with a man that completes me and makes me so happy. Forever charmed, I guess," she giggled.

"I have missed you," Piper sighed.

"You'll be with me soon," Phoebe promised, "and with Leo and Mom and Grams and Prue and --"

"I get the idea," Piper smiled before closing her eyes. "You'll stay?"

"I'm not going anywhere," Phoebe assured her older sister with a kiss to Piper's forehead. "I love you, Piper."

"Love you too, Pheebs," Piper mumbled. "Tell him…thanks…for helping me…for saving you…loving you…"

"I will," Phoebe whispered sadly. "I love you, Piper." She barely heard Piper's sigh but repeated anyway, "I love you."

To Phoebe, it didn't seem like much time had passed before Piper's breathing slowed and eventually ceased. She still held Piper's hand in her own and she kissed it. "I love you, Piper," she stated one last time. She gently laid Piper's hand on the blanket and caressed her sister's cheek before she stood.

"Phoebe?"

Phoebe shrugged helplessly but didn't face him, "My sister's dead. Piper's gone."

"I know."

Phoebe turned and ran into Cole's open arms. "She was the last one. My family's gone."

"Paige is still around," he reminded her as he stroked her back.

"She's a Whitelighter," she mumbled into his chest, "doesn't count."

"You still have the next generation, and the generation after," he soothed, "living in the manor and all over the city."

"It's not the same," she whispered.

"No, it's not," he agreed and continued to hold her.

Eventually, Phoebe slowly eased herself from his arms, "Sorry."

"No apologies necessary," he told her, "she was your sister." Phoebe threw herself back against him and he, once again, wrapped his arms around her. "You told her about limbo?" When she nodded silently, he hesitantly asked, "Well?"

"She said to," she haltingly replied, "tell you, thanks."

"She wanted to thank me for sending you to limbo?" Cole felt her grin and kissed the top of her head, "She really understood?" Now he felt her nod as she nuzzled his chest and he smiled, "I am glad you stayed, you know."

"Me too," she commented as she pulled back. "I am," she caressed his cheek, "so very glad."

"Then," he gently tugged her hand, "come with me."

Phoebe glanced once more at Piper and sighed softly before focusing on Cole. She lightly squeezed his hand and declared, "Anywhere."

"Eternity awaits," he murmured as his lips found hers and they faded away.

_**The End**_


End file.
